The water is flowing, and it is brown. So far, so good, as the drawdown of Iron Gate reservoir turns a lake back into a river, the Klamath River.
When the removal project is done, perhaps later this year, four dams will be gone from the Klamath, making it a free-flowing river from near Klamath Falls to the Pacific. It is a project that was just a dream for the longtime residents of the Klamath's banks, the Yurok, Karuk, and Hoopa Valley tribes. Now it is a reality, under the direction of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC).
We spend some extra time on the details of the project, with one dam (Copco 2) already gone and the rest being readied. KRRC CEO Mark Bransom and Dave Coffman, Northern Calif., and Southern Ore., Director for Resource Environmental Solutions, the restoration contractor for the project, visit to discuss the past, present, and possible futures for the Klamath River.